The present invention relates broadly to protecting the privacy of information and devices. The processes and device are generally used to maintain the privacy of information transmitted through communication and transmission systems. For example, the hiding processes may be used to protect the metadata of a phone call; in some embodiments, the phone call may be transmitted via voice over IP (internet protocol) with a mobile phone. These processes and devices also may be used to hide passive data stored on a computer or another physical device such as a tape drive. In some embodiments, symmetric cryptographic methods and machines are also used to supplement the hiding process.
Typically, the information (data) is hidden by a sending agent, called Alice. Alice transmits the hidden data to a receiving agent, called Bob. The receiving agent, Bob, applies an extraction process or device. The output of this extraction process or device is the same information (data) that Alice gathered before hiding and sending it. Eve is the name of the agent who is attempting to obtain the information or data. One of Alice and Bob's primary objectives is to assure that Eve cannot capture the private information that was hidden and transmitted between them.